2012-09-25 Real Battle of the Bands
A bright, clear Tuesday morning. Not usually the time one would expect a concert. But as a finale to their 'Summer Concert Series', Good Morning USA is putting on one last show for the season. And as usual, ticket sales are going to local charities. So in Central Park, a stage has been set up and a crowd is gathered. They're all cheering and preparing for the show to begin. There's a couple security guards around but they're mostly up around the stage to protect the headliners when they come on stage. As the hosts of the show come up on stage to prepare for the people back at the studio to throw to them, the crowd quiets. Axiom isn't among the crowd right now. He's in a tree in costume. He hadn't intended to come to the concert but since its happenng while he was doing other things, he's decided to stop and catch a song or two. Billy Batson doesn't always get to be part of the viewing audience of a TV show as it's being shot, but, for once, his job as an intern at The Daily Bugle is being really cool for him... 'cause here he is! He's part of the Bugle's press-team of three who've been assigned to cover the concert... the part of the team who gets to carry all the gear for the other two parts of the team. Oh well, it's not perfect, but he's still here, right? He's even in the 'good seats' area, thanks to the reason he's here... and he's all smiles at getting to be at a concert for free... AND get out of school for it, to boot! Charity concert. Marissa's all in favor of that. Her duffle bag is under her seat, but she's hoping she won't use it. And she can afford to splash out occasionally, right? Even if it has to be very occasional, with every spare penny going onto the college fund. Maybe she can get a scholarship... Not in the good seats, thus, but more towards the back of the audience. Eh. It's a concert. Hearing is more important than seeing. "Yeaaah, whoo!" Kyle puts his fingers to his lips and lets loose an appreciative whistle, clapping and cheering. It's not for anything in particular- just joining in with the general sense of well-being with the approaching concert. He looks like he's dressed for the fall weather- a heavy canvas jacket, good jeans, and what looks like a thermos full of coffee and some snackages. Man comes prepared. "Hey- hey, 'scuse me," he calls to Marissa, passing near her. "Anyone sitting here?" he calls over the general hubbub, gesturing at the row of seats next to her that are apparently the only open seats on the mezzanie.' Visibility is good, especially since she's got her own upcoming record release to promote; and with all the anti-mutant hub-bub lately, Dazzler feels particularly charged with 'We Aren't All Terrorists Thank You Very Much' Mojo! So she's there, repping Stark Records and her album, basically just being an attending celebrity at a public event! Heck, and maybe the bands will be awesome? "Good morning, Central Park!" the weather man from Good Morning USA calls out to the crowd as his little set on stage begins. He turns to the cameras on stage and starts trading bad morning puns with the people still at the studio as the energy and anticipation grows in the crowd. "And now please welcome our first performer. Ju-" Before the man can finish, several objects rocket out of the sky and crash into the park. Four in total, they appear to be faintly glowing towers about the size of cars. A growing shadow falls over the crowd and several people look up to see a space craft decending upon the area. A door opens in the bottom and a smaller craft comes in for a landing behind the crowd. It slowly starts to transform into what looks like a stage of its own as the towers flare to life and form a barrier to keep people from running too far. As the stage finishes forming, several tall blue figures in armor come into view. Looking much like Predator rejects, they're all carrying some rather alien versions of musical instruments. One steps up to a microphone and gives a little roar. "Earthlings! Battle or be conquered!" it calls out, prompting people to start panicking and security guards by the main stage to work quickly at shuffling 'the talent' away from impending chaos. Billy's eyes widen as the wierdness starts, and stay wide as the /spaceship/ comes down out of the sky. "Holy moley...!", he breathes as the lander comes down and the aliens step out. When the aliens make their announcement, his eyes narrow... and, with everyone else's attention on the aliens themselves, he slips away and heads for the one place within the encircled area where he can hope to get some privacy, to be unseen -- behind the portapotties. Panicking crowd, running into barriers. Take...*three*. Mend grumbles, grabs her duffle, and tries to make a quick exit towards...the portapotties. They really ARE the only good place to change. Hopefully she can do so before Billy blows them up. But why does this *always happen to her*. At least there are no succubi. Yet. "Holy BALLS!" Kyle shouts and falls backwards, covering his face. Debris flies, and the young artist- for the first time, in his recent 'new' life- finds himself faced with the prospect of a serious fight with something far more than a few street thugs. He looks around, desperately, with the sort of adrenaline-infused timesense only terror can generate. Where's Superman? Where are the heros? Who's going to save him? Time continues to hold as the aliens emerge and demand... something. Kyle looks down at his ring, glowing an urgent shade of emerald, and then narrows his eyes at the villainous curs invading the ampitheatre. "In brightest day," he whispers, the glow suffusing his body. "In Blackest Night." Light washes over him, coalescing into a skintight black uniform, emblazoned with a stylized lantern on his breast. His voice rises over the crowd, the glow casting its own light even in the morning sun. "No evil shall escape my sight." His voice rises in a clarion call, drowning out the panic and bringing the order of authority to the disturbance. "Let those who worship evil's might, beware my power! Kyle blasts skyward, hovering over the ampitheatre, the green glow a fury of power around him. GREEN LANTERN'S MIGHT! Kyle drives towards the aliens (a bit unsteadily) on a disc of coherent green light, his snarling face protected by an angular mask, his eyes glowing white with power. "You're interrupting my /day/, you alien freaks!" he snarls, pointing a white-gloved finger at them. "And I was going to sit next a /cute girl/. What do you want"?" Those POOR PERFORMERS! Dazzler fumes, then tells the reporter who asks her why she's /angry/ instead of scared or otherwise hand-flappy, "I have been in almost /exactly/ this same position. Those guys are getting their big break and it's being /wrecked/ by /aliens?/" Pushing up the sleeves of her jacket, Ali can't help but throw off a few angry flash-spark things instead of her usual light-sparkles as she makes her way TOWARDS the invaders instead of in the opposite direction. Of course, Green Lantern gets there first. But he's hitting the same note she was going for, so as Dazzler hits the stage (with a remarkably acrobatic leap from the pit), she's perfectly timed to strike a sassy pose and say loudly, "They're spoiling for a fight, and they're about to get one!" Cue angry pop of multicolored light - for effect - from the clenched fist at her side. From his tree perch, Axiom just stares for a few moments, not sure how to react to any of this happening. Then the panic starts and he's in motion. The costumed teen leaps out of the tree and into the crowd, pulling someone that fell to their feet. "Don't worry, it'll be okay," he tells them. When the Green Lantern appears and calls out his oath like that, Axiom looks up in awe. A grin spreads across his face and he pats the nearest person on the shoulder. "See? The heroes are here," he says, rushing to join Dazzler and the GL by the stage. There are indeed portapotties. Nice ones too. Two sections, one for men and one for women. Good Morning USA spared no expenses. The appearance of a Green Lantern makes a few of the aliens pause but the one with the mic just laughs. "Stupid Earthlings don't know how to fight," he declares, signalling the others. And with that...music starts. Bad music. Bad enough to make the closest in the crowd cover their ears in pain. It comes with a wave of invisible force that sends Axiom flying off the stage and will knock the other heroes flying too if they're not careful. Billy ducks in behind the men's portapotties, of course... and finds himself alone... and then the Green Lantern flies up into the air and Dazzler starts up a little bit of a lightshow, getting all eyes focused in that direction... Perfect! Even better, there's one of those force-field pillars nearby... Standing behind the portopotties and as close to the pillar as he can, Billy says, "Shazam!"... and a bolt of lightning streaks in, angling down and around the big spaceship above, striking where the boy stands. The lightning strikes down hitting Billy, the portable toilets... and the pillar. The portapotties are blasted to smithereens, revealing Captain Marvel standing there. Then the force-field device, also struck by the lightning, starts to spark and sputter... then it, too, explodes, sending Captain Marvel flying through the air across the concert area to smash into the force field on the other side! The force field, however, now has a gap in it... Fortunately, the Dramatic Entrance of Kyle gives Mend the cover she needs...and the women's section is JUST far enough away...well, she does kinda come running out of the portapotty explosion, possibly looking like she might be partially responsible. In time to see. "Okay. I have the biggest, *biggest* sense of deja vu!" the young heroine exclaims. Over the bad music. What, are they playing...huh. Fight properly. With MUSIC? She has an idea...a little itty bitty one. Kyle grimaces and holds his ring hand up, trying to push back the incredibly offensive sound. His disc recoils backwards with the noise, but Kyle holds his balance (a bit gamely). He sets his jaw. "Oh, so it's /that/ kind of fight, huh?" He takes a deep breath. "Well, one thing you guys don't know about me, is that I am an artist. And if you're going to be in art school at UCLA," he adds, taking a deep breath, "you have to learn to play acoustic guitar." He concentrates- /really/ hard- and what looks like a bitchin' acoustic guitar springs into reality in his hands. Kyle floats down to the stage, going shoulder to shoulder with Dazzler. "All right, you aliens- I challenge you to a musical battle. I, uh, guess." Kyle needs to work on his dramatic speeches. "As a famous Green Lantern named 'Rot Lop Fan' said," Kyle takes a deep breath, his voice taking on that rolling power it held before. In loudest din or hush profound, My ears catch evil's slightest sound. Let those who toll out evil's knell, Beware my power- F-sharp Bell! Kyle strums out an F major chord on the guitar, which resounds like it's running through a three thousand watt sound system. "Who's with me?" he demands of the throng. "More importantly, who can play something more complicated than a recorder?" he adds, belatedly. Just because she can absorb the sound doesn't mean she can't hear it - normally, anyway - and Dazzler is NOT HAPPY. Because, "AUGH you /SUCK!/" The wave of force that crashes over them -- Nope, not sonic. Learning the hard way. Right alongside Axiom, Dazzler goes sailing off of the stage and landing with a loud thump and a cough. "Son of a /bitch/" she groans while collecting herself. "I can!" Dazzler calls in response to Kyle's challenge, scrambling quickly; "What about you, man? Do you play anything? Battle of the Bands to save the Earth?" "Ow," Axiom grunts. When he notices Dazller landing with him, Axiom lets out a little squeak and moves to check on her. Before he can call her 'ma'am', she's scrambling up on stage and the teen blinks. The challenge makes him blink and hesitate before climbing up alongside her and Green Lantern. "I um....I can't play but I can sing. And...boost," he says, glances at the still playing aliens and the people in pain from the bad music. The explosion gets him staring a moment but he turns back to GL and Dazzler. "Oh man...this is crazy." Theopening in the forcefield is noticed by the bodyguards and security personal who quickly start ushering their 'stars' to safety. Some from the crowd are following but the opening is slowly shrinking. To the observant, they'll notice something interesting. When Kyle plays his construct guitar, there's a slight dimming of the lights on the towers and the volume in the alien 'music'. Captain Marvel sits up from where he'd landed on his back after smacking into the force field across the way. "... Ow. I actuallay /felt/ that...", he says, mostly to himself. Getting to his feet, he then floats up into the air and sees what's going on. "Whoa... wait... a music battle? Seriously?", he questions as he floats over to the stage. "I'm not a... oh wait, I can sing, and dance, and play... well, none of the instruments I can play are here. I could probably make do with one of the drums, though...", he says, scooping up a fallen snare drum and setting it on its feet in front of himself. He then starts tapping at the drum with one of his thumbs, setting a beat. So. The guy with the glowing green guitar seems to have something. Mend sets her idea aside...probably not necessary. And the other cape goes for a drum. Drat. He already snagged the easiest instrument. Question is...what does she try? What does she...she racks her brain for a moment, then runs towards Kyle. "I'm not fantastic, but I can sing. Sort of. A little. And dance." She's better at the dancing part but hey, it worked for Michael Jackson. Sure, Ali could stand there and focus and just absorb all the sound while the other heroes punched; but frankly, this is entirely more fun. Besides, all the outrageous noise is giving her stores of energy a /killer/ boost. Skidding to grab an abandoned keyboard-guitar (god BLESS nostalgic hipster bands!), Dazzler slings it across her shoulder, plugs it into the nearest amp which then gets turned up to 11, and she starts /wailing on it/, in a distinct but complimentary harmony with GL's guitar. Normally she sings, but hey - this was to showcase /new/ talent, so let the others have the spotlight right? "LET'S GO FOR IT!" "As far as I'm concerned, there's only /one/ song that we need to play," Kyle says, eyes narrowed. He lifts his fist, the emerald ring creating a ticking monotone. Ghostly refrains of the opening bars go through everyone's minds as his ring gets on board with the action. "All we need is a little magical autotune..." He adjusts his ring, which abruptly cleans up all the feedback and static in the massive sound system. He looks around at his little crew, and for a moment, swallows a bit of nervousness. Kyle's ring falters and dims... then grows all the brighter as he straightens and finds his backbone. "There's only one song that can win this. One song that speaks to all people, of all generations and classes. One song, for the human race."He turns back to the aliens. He nods at Dazzler and gives her an encouraging fistpump. "Ladies and gentlemen. Join us... in singing a little bit... of Journey." Microphones come into existence, solid green artifacts. Kyle's imagination soars and stage clothing manifests around the supers on stage, accessorizing their super-suits with slick black and green outfits and accessories, not dissimilar to his own Green Lantern uniform. Lights go up. Smoke billows across the stage. The power levels soar and spike, and suddenly, the entire stage is about the most bitchin' concert platform ever made. Even better than KISS. "one two three Four!" Kyle leans forward and, with the timing only an artificially intelligent magical ring could prompt everyone with, launches into the opening notes of the GREATEST ROCK AND ROLL SONG EVER. Things are happening way faster than Axiom is used to and he just looks a bit lost. He turns to mend and shrugs. "Hi, Mend," he offers. As Kyle's light show begins, Axiom jumps and decides to lend a hand. Focusing his powers, he sends a boost Kyle's way to strengthen his power. Axiom's costume shifts and changes to look like a fusion of his own and a Green Lantern's even before Kyle gives them a wardrobe change. He perks up as he recognizes the tune though, looking to Mend and Captain Marvel since it looks like they're singing. "This is...oh man," he says, starting to sing. Kid's got a good voice on him too. The aliens stop playing for just a moment as the heroes put up an actual resistance. They weren't expecting that. People in the crowd have taken notice of things too. Some aren't even fleeing anymore. A cheer rises as the song begins but quickly dies down so as not to drown out this heroic music battle. The aliens, seeing their 'prey' no longer intimidated, start playing again too. Captain Marvel drums along on the snare... then, between snare-beats, he blurs and there's more of the drumset arranged for him to use, and drumsticks in his hands. He keeps following the Green Lantern's lead, drumming out the beat he's heard a few times in his life... and which, thanks to the eideitic memory granted him by the Wisdom of Solomon, he can now remember in perfect clarity. Oh, Dazzler knows this one by heart. (And /several/ others.) And her key-tar is /smokin'/ and why isn't fighting bad guys ALWAYS a party? It should totally always be a party. Someone tell the JLA to dictate that beating up badguys should involve a party. And Journey, because Journey is RAD. But the light show... /that's/ lacking. It's not one of hers! So with lasers cued and smoke billowing, Dazzler's power goes up in a series of holographic 'screens', exploding with shifting color and mood enhancing effects. Heeeelll yeeeeaaah. Okay. Here goes...everything. Mend...Marissa...stepping onto the stage, and dang it, THEIR music isn't very good...it's believing in it that's important. And she doesn't have a bad voice, either...and at least Kyle picked a song she knew. What she does have is moves. There's not that big of a reach between combat training and dancing, after all, and she finally just...what the heck! She's singing, dancing and enjoying herself, and people might even be less willing to flee now there's something to listen to. Microphone. Stage costume. (Maybe nobody will recognize her...nah. This is already viral on Youtube, or will be within seconds, unless that forcefield blocks cell signals. Which it won't, because that would help the good guys). Aliens may have sound. They may have spaceships. They may have the secret to immortality. But no one- NO ONE- in the galaxy knows how to put on a better stager performance than Earthlings. Kyle knows what art is. He knows what /music/ is. He knows it's not just the noise, it's the sound. Not the volume, but the emotion. He continues to play, gritting his teeth, and swirling discs of energy coalesce under everyone, lifting them skywards. Captain Marvel's entire ensemble goes up with him, flashing lights with every thump of the drums. The green light suffuses Dazzler's platform, lending her support so she can run the brilliant visuals that are her namesake. Mend is elevated, her gyroscopic form creating a kinetic, fluid motion to the rising intensity of the musical number. The lights, the lasers, the strobes- they play on the crowd's senses. Like a dog displacing a smaller dog, the Superheroes try to displace the sound of the alien noisemakers. The band hits the bridge of the song and Kyle launches into a blistering guitar solo while Axiom takes a breather. his voice echoes in Axiom's mind. Kyle gestures at the crowd, yelling and pointing. His uniform is a bit... flashier, and shinier and has a really awesome sort of cowl thing going on. "Do you want it?" he screams at the crowd. A few scream back. "DO YOU WANT IT?!" he demands. The roar of approval is a tidal wave of emotion. Kyle spins his hand and points at Axiom. "TAKE US HOME!" he shouts. The crowd turns to Axiom, waits for him to launch into the lyrics, ready to join him with the fervent adulation of any group of fans at their favorite concert. Sorry, Mend. The cell signals aren't being blocked at all. And this is on morning TV too, the Good Morning USA cameras still rolling and broadcasting the 'battle'. Hopefully Mend enjoys fanmail since some will be showing up at Titans Tower after this. The more the heroes play, the quieter the alien music gets. People that had been doubled over in pain from the terrible sounds are standing back up and joining in with the crowd. The aliens start looking worried but to their credit, they don't give up. They're determined even if the lights on their tech are dimming. Almost like losing the battle is messing with their technology. Axiom may not have the moves Mend does but he's right there dancing and singing with her. The lights, the music, the fact that they're actually saving people....it's got him charged up. And then something new happens. The cheering crowd taps into some of Axiom's power that he didn't even know he had. A white glow is emitted from the masked teen as the crowd boosts him. He's not sure what it is but he's just going with it. The guitar solo break is appreciated and Axiom smiles Mend's way to make sure she's doing okay. Before he can even try to ask, that telepathic message reaches him and he jumps. A look is shot Kyle's way and there's a moment of panick but Kyle's already yelling to the crowd. That wave of emotion helps him get over things though. A quick glance to the aliens reminds him that if they mess up, the crowd will be in danger so he steps up and launches right into those lyrics. "Don't stop believin'! Hold onto that feeling! Streetlights people! Don't stop believin'! Hold onto that feeling! Streetlights people! Don't stop believin'! Hold onto that feeling! Streetlights people!" going with a quick whim, he strikes a pose. Not expecting Captain Marvel to join in with special effects, as he strikes his pose and gives that last "Don't Stop!" a bolt of lightning crashes down and hits Axiom. He's surprised but tries not to let it show. Looking around quickly, he just ends up blushing as the crowd erupts again. As the heroes end their song, the alien tech shuts down entirely. The forcefield towers sputter out and shut down while the instruments the ones on stage are playing actually break. Some of them look worried but others look ready to actually fight the heroes. Too bad for them their 'mothership' is starting to make a hasty retreat. Axiom blinks when he notices this and then points down at the aliens on stage. "Got a few more to deal with," he calls to GL, Mend, Captain Marvel, and Dazzler. Captain Marvel /moves/... he's a red, white, and gold blur to over right in front of the aliens, where he hovers, hands on his hips. "You've been beaten. Don't make us beat you again. If you leave now, you may leave without injury. Go back into your landing craft and rejoin your mothership. Do not challenge the people of this world, again... unless you want us coming to /your/ world to defeat you /there/", he says, loudly, clearly, pointing to the smaller ship and then the larger, in turn, as he mentions them. The aliens hear the statement in their native tongue. Marissa Sometimes sighs. "Too late...their ship's leaving." She doesn't move in to the attack, though. After all, he's right, you're supposed to give the villains a chance to surrender. Or, in this case, go home and lick their wounds. If their own people will let them...which seems unlikely at this point. Of course Dazzler's the one looking semi-unreasonable here; she and one of the alien's didn't get the memo right away, you see, and are busy trading punches and kicks (Dazzler seems to be messing around with him a little, he's all sweaty and struggly) ... they BOTH stop when Captain Marvel speaks. Boy is her face red. Kyle moves to back Captain Marvel, suffused with green light. He pitches his voice through his ring, the entire bandstand becoming a conduit for his voice. "LEAVE. NOW." Kyle plays another riff on his guitar, threatening them with a few bars of 'Sweet Home Alabama'. "Or you'll get more of the same!" He ignores the crowd's cheers and catcalls, shoulder to shoulder with Marvel and staring down the musical alien thugs. Axiom stands right alongside Mend, frowning at the aliens. For a few moments, most of the aliens look like they're ready to fight. Then they decide to run for it since their ride home is leaving. Two move to haul away their friend that's battling with Dazzler before the lot of them head back into their stage-ship. As it begins lifting off, the towers around the area start breaking down and blowing away like dust in the wind. As both the ships start to vanish among the clouds, the crowd erupts in cheers again. Axiom blushes and is still glowing bright white. He turns to Mend and offers a smile. "You're a r-r-really good singer, Mend-ma'am." Captain Marvel watches the two ship fly up and away. "Well done, Lantern", he says to Kyle, then turns and is just a blur as flies away, almost instantly out of sight. He lands a bit away in the park, out of sight, but close enough that he won't have trouble running back to the concert-crowd as Billy. The lightning bolt that follows might be noticeable, but it's gone so fast that it'd be hard to track to where it struck. Only a minute or two later, Billy Batson's in among the crowd of concert-goers, cheering the heroes as he makes his way back to where he left the duffle filled with the reporters' gear. Okay. Time to get out of here before...anyone else says she can sing. "Strictly amateur hour," she insists to Axiom, before heading off towards...oh crap. Where she left her gear. Where... "Oh no." Her street clothes. Were too close to the exploding portapotties. Not a good moment for the young heroine. The Aliens fleeing, heroes departing, and the crowd cheering like /woah/, Dazzler takes a quiet moment to lean over at Kyle and ask /very sincerely/, "Do you do session work? I would /love/ to collab on a few songs with you for my next album!" Kyle looks at Dazzler a bit sheepishly, lowering everyone to the ground and gradually dismissing the thunderous electronic noise. The crowd, still wrapped up in the emotions of the moment, continue to cheer and root for everyone. The discs bring everyone to ground, and Kyle steps a bit closer to Dazzler, his flashy stage accoutraments returning to his slick, form-fitting black uniform. "I, uh, kind of lied," he admits. He holds up his guitar, which has four buttons and a whammy bar. "I didn't play guitar in college. I played a TON of Rock Band." He shrugs, looking kind of sheepish. Gasp! Though Alison makes a stinkface instead of a gasping noise or anything, and she points accusingly at GL but doesn't say anything more. Instead, she decides to respond to the calls for "Dazzler! Dazzler!" from reporters and autograph-hounds, and goes that way instead. "Well you're a good amateur," Axiom offers as Mend goes off. He blinks when he notices Captain Marvel is gone and then looks to Dazzler and Kyle. Axiom's still mimicking Green Lantern's powers and being boosted by the crowd so he's glowing green and white. He arrives by the older heroes in time to hear Kyle's reveal. "You were still great though, Green Lantern-sir," he offers. Of course when he notices Dazzler's fans approaching, the teen looks to the Lantern. "Oh boy..." Marissa Sometimes gives up. She wanders back over to the others. "My exit got ruined." Along with her clothes. Fortunately, her phone was in a waterproof case. It should be fine. Stark might not give her a new one this time, after all. And then...Dazzler-fans. Well, Mend is a Dazzler-fan. She'd freely admit it. Kyle looks a little crestfallen. He dismissed his guitar- and the other incredibly realistic, lifelike artifacts he'd generated from sheer force of will, apparently resigned to Dazzler being unimpressed by his creativity helping to save the day. He turns to Axiom- man, the kid is small- and tries to stand straighter. "Well... you did great, kid," Kyle says, unconsciously pitching his voice down to a more authoritarian tone. He looks about and realizes that Marissa and Axiom- and a few hundred other people- are looking to him for guidance. He swallows and steps forward. "Everyone, sorry about the... mess," he says, apologizing. His voice is a little reedy, but he gains strength as he gets momentum. "I'm sure the authorities have EMS crews on the way. And, uh, I imagine the concert is on hold," he adds, trying for a laugh. "So just sit tight, take care of your loved ones, and we'll see what we can do to get things made right." Axiom blushes a bit more and the glow around him brightens for just a moment. "Thanks. Um...I'm Axiom," he offers. "Oh um. Do you n-need a hand?" he offers Mend, not sure how he could help. He nods quickly when GL assures the crowd. "Right!" he chimes in. Soon enoug, the sound of sirens can finally be heard as the crowd quiets. The hosts of Good Morning USA that didn't flee take over getting the crowd calm as EMTs and Police start to instruct people on where to go and what to do. Seems like the day has been saved. Category:Logs Category:Events